Bay of Plenty cancer patients are dropping out of treatment due to cost and logistics of getting it in Tauranga

it 1,857 guests were received in the 2022/2023 fiscal yearreceived 731 guests in the 2018/2019 fiscal year.

“It’s a lot easier for my family.”

Kelly, 61, said she was diagnosed with rectal cancer in May and began treatment in June. She underwent six and a half weeks of radiotherapy and “several” chemotherapy treatments at Tauranga Hospital.

She said the Cancer Society provided her with meals and transportation to and from the hospital. New Zealand Ministry of Health National Travel Assistance Scheme She was offered lodging at a motel in Greerton.

That support meant the ordeal “became a lot easier for my family.”

“You feel so much pain – I was glad to be back in the motel, in bed, because I was in so much pain.”

The mother of three lived alone at the motel. Her daughter would drive her more than an hour to Tauranga on Monday and pick her up on Friday.

She said if there were a hotel in Tauranga she would probably stay there on the weekends instead of going home.

“You do start to feel a little alone and blame yourself because you’re so miserable and depressed. But you just have to get through it because you don’t have any other choice.”

Other cancer patients also stayed at the motel, and Kelly enjoyed their camaraderie, she said.

She said having support from other cancer patients “when you’re not feeling so good” and being able to support others was one of the benefits of the lodge.

Kelly has received “excellent care” from the Cancer Council and believes building a hostel in Tauranga would be a huge boost.

Patients who choose not to receive treatment due to transportation costs

Cancer Society services for cancer patients in the Bay of Plenty include transport to treatment appointments, daily meals for patients and carers, advice and guidance from experienced nurses, participation in support groups, counselling and massage.

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Council chief executive Helen Carter said about 1600 people were diagnosed with cancer each year in the Bay of Plenty.

Cancer patients living in the following areas marry, Opotiki She said other rural areas in the eastern Bay of Plenty often struggled with the cost and logistics of treatment.

“We’ve come across families who have considered or decided not to proceed with treatment because the cost of travelling to Tauranga and staying there for weeks is too high.

“It is really important to have facilities close to treatment centres so that people can have the opportunity to continue their treatment without the financial burden but with love, meals, an environment that means the only thing they have to worry about is fighting cancer…

She said some people “compromise” in their fight against cancer because of concerns about cost and logistics.

“That’s unacceptable to us, but it’s a huge dream to complete a major project like a new facility.”

She said building a facility in Tauranga had been a goal for “quite some time”, but the past two years had been “definitely challenging” financially and economically.

Carter has been working towards achieving the “glorious trifecta” of “finding the right land, or ideally a gift of land, at the right price, in the right location near Tauranga Hospital”.

“Beyond that, we need the right partners and funders who share the vision and are keen to support people from outside Tauranga to travel … or contribute in other ways.

She said finding suitable land near Tauranga Hospital was “like pulling a rabbit out of a hat”.

“But we will do it. Because we have to, because it is necessary.”

Carter said investments in such buildings are “very much a community-driven effort” rather than a government-funded project.

She said modelling showed a facility with 12 to 14 bedrooms with en suite bathrooms could meet current demand, but ideally it would be better to build a 20-bedroom facility.

Friday was Daffodil Day, the Cancer Society’s biggest fundraiser, with volunteers across the region collecting donations.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health has been contacted for comment.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Mail. She has been working as a journalist since 2021.